[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] The proportion of military personnel convicted of sexual crimes and sentenced to imprisonment or heavier penalties in the military over the past five years has been only about one in ten.
On the 18th, Park Seong-jun, a member of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "Despite the continuous occurrence of sexual crimes among military personnel and the serious deterioration of military discipline, the sentencing by military courts has not met public expectations. Since the High Military Court has made the same judgment, there is an urgent need to discuss military judicial reform to transfer appeals of peacetime military trials to civilian courts."
According to data received by Rep. Park from the Ministry of National Defense, from 2015 to the end of June 2020, the proportion of military personnel who committed sexual crimes and were sentenced to imprisonment by each branch's military courts, equivalent to the first trial level of civilian courts, was only 10.3% in the Army, 10.5% in the Navy, and 9.4% in the Air Force.
Considering that during the same period, the proportion of civilians convicted of sexual crimes and sentenced to imprisonment at the first trial level was 25.2%, the military sentencing rate is significantly lower.
On the other hand, the rates of suspended sentences for sexual crimes within the military were 31.9% in the Army, 31.6% in the Navy, and 56.6% in the Air Force, while fines were imposed at rates of 24.9% in the Army, 26.3% in the Navy, and 5.7% in the Air Force. The rates of deferred sentences were 4.3% in the Army, 10.5% in the Navy, and 17% in the Air Force.
During the same period, the proportion of military personnel who committed sexual crimes against female soldiers and were sentenced to imprisonment or heavier penalties by the High Military Court, equivalent to the second trial level of civilian courts, was only 13.3%.
Meanwhile, suspended sentences accounted for 33.9%, fines 6.1%, and deferred sentences 3.3%.
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